Uhlandschule School Visit (One of My Favorite Experiences!!!)

Uhlandschule is a primary and Realschule which is being renovated in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Bosch and other companies into one of only three “plus-energy” schools (schools that produce more energy than they expend).

 When we arrived at the school it was break time, so all of the students from grades 1-10 were all out in the courtyard playing soccer, jumping rope, running around, eating snacks (fresh bread, pretzels, pastries, and fruits), and being typical kids, only they were note being supervised by a gang of teachers.  The teachers were in their classrooms and other areas having coffee and chatting.  Students were expected to be responsible for themselves while they played.  The older kids looked out for the smaller ones, but there was little to no adult supervision.  No one keeping them from kicking the soccer ball up against the side of the shed, or keeping them running around into one another.  Not something you would see in a typical American school yard.

A group of older students had prepared their school garden area for us with fresh pretzels, apple juice, coffee, and sparkling water.  They had even made center pieces for the picnic tables.  We meet with the school's principal and she told us a little bit about the school, then we met a few teachers and followed them to their classroom to observe a lesson.

During my visit there I observed in a 1st Grade classroom.  The students were SO CUTE!!!  It made me miss all the sweet kiddos at my schools.  I was pleased to see that their classroom was very similar to one you would see in Rutherford County.  The only differences being that there were no Promethean Boards or interactive whiteboards, no computers, or other technology devices.  They only used chalkboards, paper, pencils, and other manipulatives. Oh, and they spoke in German and English.  

The classroom consisted of one teacher, two assistants and twenty bright eyed and eager to learn students.  I actually think one of the assistants was more of a one-on-one for a young boy with autism.  

The students were very inquisitive about the guests, "American Teachers", in the room and had a few questions to ask, but for the most part they ignored us once the teacher began her lesson.  Students were actively engaged in the lesson and were expected to work independently after the main lesson.  

Once the students began on their independent work, I walked around the classroom and saw that students were working at different paces and several had completely different assignments.  The teacher was using differentiated instruction based on what her students needed.  Each student was working on the same concept, but it was suited to meet their needs.  The teacher said that she prepared each students work the day before and students knew to work on what was in their folder.  I also noticed students were able to collaborate or discuss things that they needed help with with each other.

After the lesson and after the students had been dismissed for the day (at 12:15p!!!!), the students walked out to meet their parents or walked home on their own.  A few of the students had their parents wait around to meet us.  A mother and a father had walked to the school to pick up their three children at school and were very warm and inviting.  The mother asked us some questions and we told her about our visit in Germany and that we were all teachers.  She even invited us to come to the community movie and out for dinner afterwards, which I think would have been amazing, but we were on a tight schedule.

All in all the school visit to Uhlandschule was one of my favorite experiences while I was abroad in Germany.  It reminded me why I began teaching in the first place.  Seeing the awe in the students as they grasped and learned new concepts.  I can't wait to begin a pen pal program with the classroom at one of my schools.  

Below are some videos from the lesson: